Prognostic Value of Fibrinogen/HDL Ratio in Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Vascular causes are most frequently implicated in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL), and the process has been reported to be associated with fibrinogens and plasma lipoproteins. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between serum fibrinogen and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, and the ratios of fibrinogen/HDL and monocyte/HDL, and ISSHL.

The present retrospective study included 116 patients with ISSHL. Treatment outcomes was categorised four groups according to Siegel's criteria as follows: complete recovery (Group1), partial recovery (Group 2), slight recovery (Group 3), or no improvement (Group 4). Fibrinogen, HDL and monocyte levels of patients were assessed through routine blood analyses, and fibrinogen/HDL and monocyte/HDL ratios were calculated for each patient.

Fibrinogen values were significantly lower in Group 1 than in Groups 3 and 4, whereas the values were also significantly lower in Group 2 than in Group 3. HDL values in Group 1 were significantly higher than in the other groups. Fibrinogen/HDL values were significantly lower in Group 1 than in Groups 3 and 4. However, there was no significant difference among the groups with regard to monocyte/HDL ratios.

To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the fibrinogen/HDL ratio in ISSHL in the literature. Although fibrinogen/HDL ratio might be a useful prognostic indicator for hearing recovery in patients with ISSHL, further studies with a larger patient population is required to confirm its clinical practicability and reliability.